Giriraj Singh house robbery: Patna police to send team to Nagpur to establish cash link

Police said the note packet slips on the bundles of cash would provide a vital link of the source of the cash.

Giriraj who had earlier said only Rs 50,000 was stolen from his house, has now claimed that the money belonged to his cousin. (Source: Express photo)

The Patna police are likely to send a team headed by an SP rank officer to Nagpur to trace the source of Rs 1.14 crore cash which a thief has claimed he has stolen from Nawada BJP MP Giriraj Singh’s Patna residence. The MP, who had earlier said only Rs 50,000 was stolen from his house, has now claimed that the money belonged to his cousin Rakesh Kumar Singh who is in realty, maize processing and poultry farm business in Nagpur.

Police said Rakesh, who was asked to produce relevant documents to substantiate his ownership claim over the recovered cash, produced papers claiming that he got Rs 80 lakh after selling a plot of land in Nagpur and Rs 35 lakh cash from various other sources. Overall, Rakesh claimed that he had kept Rs 1.20 crore cash at the flat of the MP “with the plan to expand his business”.

“We are awaiting for some more documents before sending a team to Nagpur to verfiy Rakesh’s claims and trace sources of cash,” said a senior police officer.

Police said the note packet slips on the bundles of cash would provide a vital link of the source of the cash.

A chief manager of a nationalised bank explained it saying, “Though banks do not keep record of the numbers on notes, note packet slips do have dates with signature of an officer and cash in case of withdrawal of amount in Rs 500 denomination.” “Heavy withdrawal can surely be tracked,” the bank manager added.

Patna Police said it is the Income Tax department’s responsibility to find out if the BJP MP was speaking the truth. “Even if a land plot was sold and transaction was in white, why cheques were not taken and why such a large amount of cash was kept in the first place at the MP’s flat,” said a police officer adding that Rakesh Kumar Singh’s “growth” could come under the IT department’s scanner.

Rakesh Kumar Singh is neighbour of Giriraj Singh at Baraiha town in Lakhisarai. Rakesh’s father Upendra Singh was a known contractor till 1980s. Rakesh started his business about eight years ago with a cold drink agency at Dumka and later settled in Nagpur.

Meanwhile, Dinesh Kumar alias Guddu Rangeela, from whom the stolen cash was recovered, has told the police that some more of the stolen cash was with Anwar, a resident of Patna City who is still absconding.